Journalist Mireya Navarro has faced many challenges: leaving her home in Puerto Rico for college in Washington, D.C.; writing for the San Francisco Examiner for a decade; earning a spot at the New York Times, covering Miami, Puerto Rico, Houston and, eventually, 9/11. But she wasn't prepared for Eddie, her stepdog.
Immersed in her career and loving New York, Navarro was elated when she discovered a kindred spirit in Jim, also a Times journalist, based in Los Angeles. A bicoastal romance blossomed, and while Jim's two children accepted her, Eddie, Jim's barking, spotted, "big galoot" of a protective rescue dog, was a tough sell.
The two kept Navarro's New York apartment, plus the L.A. house, maintaining their own careers and giving the kids stability. A wedding, however, did not sway Eddie. Typically, Navarro would awake to the dog "in hysterics, jumping on me, jumping on Jim and trying to get between us, preventing me from getting close enough to our man." Many walks, belly rubs and standoffs later, the intruder-wife came to accept "Edweirdo" as "the one common denominator that everyone loved." Ever the journalist, Navarro studied pet behavior and consulted a "dog shrink," and 10 years into her relationship she concluded that Eddie symbolized the stress of becoming a "step" in a family.
Stories from Jim's and Navarro's careers, trips to Puerto Rico and their loving marriage balance the tales of Eddie the terrible. Navarro's memoir ends with advice: "Top 10 Do's and Don'ts when you find a dog in your romance." Readers will recognize that she's tried them all. --Cheryl Krocker McKeon, manager, Book Passage, San Francisco